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FERC's GulfTerra Orders: Changes in the Pipeline

A new FERC decision veers away from congressional intent not to burden intrastate pipelines with interstate policies.

Two recent orders in a GulfTerra Texas Pipeline LP rate case make new precedent for Natural Gas Policy Act intrastate pipelines providing interstate transportation.
Byline: 

J. Michel Marcoux

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Frontlines: Sticker Shock

Electricity rates may be heading skyward sooner than we think.

Even in regulated states, balancing shareholder interest against ratepayer interest is still more art than science. A fact that utilities will always dread, as long as there are rate cases.
Byline: 

Richard Stavros

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The Road Not Taken

Revisiting performance-based rates with endogenous market designs.

Have regulators selected the wrong market design in their restructurings during the past two decades?
Byline: 

Francis J. Cronin and Stephen A. Motluk

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New England Reaches for the RTO Ring

ISO New England dares to dream, again.

ISO New England wants to become a regional transmission organization. But just the idea — prior to any official filing at FERC — has come under attack. ISO-NE is going to find rough waters ahead, despite a three-year effort aimed at a smooth transition to becoming an RTO. And now with the Oct. 31 filing of the 2,000-plus-page RTO proposal at FERC, the stage is set for these battles to be fought, again.
Byline: 

Lori A. Burkhart

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Return on Equity: A Survey of recent PUC Rulings

A Survey of Recent PUC Rulings

Our annual overview of PUC rulings shows how rate orders handed down during the past 12 months have focused both on declining interest rates and increased financial risks—and how they should affect investor expectations.
Byline: 

Phillip S. Cross

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Utility Ratemaking & ROE: Rethinking the Tools of the Trade

The industry requires new analytical tools to incorporate the realities of today's higher risk operating and investment environment into the equity allowance process.

With a “return to basics” mantra now common in the industry, coupled with the recognition of under-investment and heightened reliability concerns, most companies are now facing significant capital expenditure programs. Many utilities are considering or have filed for rate relief.
Byline: 

Mark Ciolek, Wallace Jones, and Dr. William Wilson

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21st Century ROEs: What Is Reasonable?

How to benchmark return on equity (ROE) and depreciation expense in utility rate cases.

Opposing estimates of investors’ required rates of return and determining appropriate depreciation rates could translate into disagreements worth tens of millions of dollars in a utility’s annual revenue requirement.
Byline: 

Johannes P. Pfeifenberger and Mark W. Jenkins

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Business & Money

Lehman Brothers and others say upcoming rate cases and falling unregulated earnings mean some IOUs will have less to show for their effort.

Byline: 
Richard Stavros
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Business & Money

Lehman Brothers and others say upcoming rate cases and falling unregulated earnings mean some IOUs will have less to show for their effort.

Byline: 
Richard Stavros
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Business & Money

An evolving market demands a greater focus on power prices and required return on equity.


An evolving market demands a greater focus on power prices and required return on equity.

Valuation can be difficult even in stable markets, and executives setting their company's strategic course need to understand how the market for power projects is evolving and what may lie ahead.

Byline: 
Jeff Bodington and J. Robert Malko
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